Jerry Ludwig: Going tankless is one option to fix hot-water delays

12:29 PM,
Feb. 21, 2013

Written by

Jerry Ludwig

Dear Jerry: Thank you for your weekly articles. Here's our problem: We have a 1960s built ranch. The hot water tank is at one end of the house, the kitchen is at the other end. We use the kitchen sink a lot and we have to wait 3 minutes plus for hot water to get there. We don't like the wait or the waste of water.

I've insulated the water run in the basement, but this had little effect on the wait. I do not like the idea of having a continuous pump running all the time, as this may cost more in energy than water. If we are just washing our hands and doing dishes in the sink would an on demand tankless water heater be ...